Moscow CoachDynamo » Alexei Kudashov in an interview with , he spoke about the situation with foreign hockey players in the team and, in particular, with the Canadian striker Eric O’Dell .
Last season, the 32-year-old Canadian left the team after the end of the first round of the playoffs. He played in all 7 games against Severstal Cherepovets, in which he scored 8 points (2 goals + 6 assists). In the second round, Dynamo lost to CSKA with an aggregate score in the series 0-4.
– Fans are puzzled – O’Dell left the team midway through the playoffs and his salary was doubled. Can you explain why there is such an attitude towards the legionnaire?
– Let’s really understand, because we talk about it a lot. Last year, Eric had a small contract, because he was injured and nobody needed him in the KHL. Moreover, we had an official agreement that the club could terminate this contract at any time. O’Dell accepted everything, including some money. He took a big risk coming to us after shoulder surgery and he had a great season. After that, many teams made him a generous offer. Thirty percent more than Dynamo. But he still chose us. Yes, Eric has more than last year. But his current contract is much smaller than the one he had before, for example at Magnitogorsk.
– There’s nothing wrong with O’Dell’s game. But he left the team before the series with CSKA. This fact is hard to ignore.
— The pressure on the legionnaires from their homeland began even before the series with Cherepovets. But they stayed. And besides, the team at that time also had financial problems. So understand the situation – both here it is alarming and here it is not good. Don’t blame the players. They were poured with mud at home. And Eric also had something like that with his parents. Therefore, the club turned to foreigners. Eric went home, understood, realized that there was no particular danger and immediately contacted us. He apologized and said he was ready to come back.
Source : MatchTV
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